The Toronto International Film Festival announced more of its 2017 lineup today, and high on the list is a film directed by comedian Louis C.K. I Love You, Daddy, which was made entirely in secret and shot on 35mm film, marks his return to feature film directing, 16 years after his film Pootie Tang. That movie crashed and burned upon release, though in the years since, it has gained some kind of reputation as a cult movie.
Historically, TIFF has tended to be one of the most Oscar-friendly film festivals, with many movies kicking off their awards seasons campaigns there. This year appears to be no different. The lineup includes Molly’s Game, the directorial debut of West Wing creator Aaron Sorkin, which starts Jessica Chastain as a real-life former Olympic skier who began running a high-stakes poker game, and Unicorn Store, the first directorial outing from Room — and soon-to-be Captain Marvel — actress Brie Larson. Previously announced films include Guillermo del Toro’s The Shape of Water, Alexander Payne’s Downsizing, and the Darren Aronofsky and Jennifer Lawrence thriller Mother!
This year’s TIFF will also include a healthy selection of television, including the premiere of the second season of The Girlfriend Experience and an early look at Netflix’s German thriller Dark. One of the standouts of the television lineup, however, is The Deuce: from The Wire’s David Simon and George Pelecanos, the series stars Maggie Gyllenhaal and James Franco, and tracks the birth of the porn industry in 1970s New York.
Lesser-known projects fill out the rest of the lineup. A zombie film called The Cured has a premise that sounds like an epilogue for The Walking Dead, staring Ellen Page; another film called Marrowbone is the directorial debut of Sergio G. Sánchez, screenwriter of the excellent The Orphanage; and for music video fans, there’s even a restored, 3D version of Michael Jackson’s Thriller short film, complete with a new Dolby Atmos mix.
You can view the entire festival lineup here. This year’s Toronto International Film Festival will be running from September 7th–17th. The Verge will be on the ground — particularly for that Kanye and Stephen Hawking short.